GREENVILLE, Pa. (pacathletics.org)--The Westminster College women's soccer program was voted the preseason favorite in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), according to the league's annual coaches' poll. The results of this year's poll, voted on by the conference's 11 head coaches, were revealed with the PAC's Players to Watch List Wednesday afternoon. 

Westminster and 21st-year head coach Girish Thakar claimed five first-place votes and 103 total points to top the preseason poll. 

Westminster earned the top seed in last year's six-team championship tournament after finishing the regular season with an unblemished 9-0 league record. After posting a 4-0 semifinal shutout win over No. 4 Washington & Jefferson College on November 2, Westminster fell to No. 3 Chatham University 4-3 in double overtime in the tournament's title match on Nov. 6. Westminster owns five PAC titles, winning three-straight PAC championships from 2002-04 before winning back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007.

Grove City College, led by 30th-year head coach Melissa Lamie, totaled three first-place votes and 101 points to finish second in the poll. The No. 2 seed in last season's championship tournament, Grove City was dealt a 1-0 overtime semifinal loss by Chatham. It was the first year the program did not advance to the title match since 2012. Grove City has won seven PAC titles, claiming back-to-back championships in 2018 and 2019.

Chatham and 11th-year head coach Betsy Warren earned three first-place votes and 99 points to finish third in the poll. Chatham secured its second-straight PAC Championship Tournament title last fall. It was the third-straight year Chatham appeared in the league's title match. As last year's championship tournament winner, Chatham received the conference's automatic-qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. It was the program's first-ever appearance in the Division III Championship.

W&J registered 76 points to finish fourth and was followed by Franciscan University in fifth (73), Waynesburg University in sixth (62) and Allegheny College in seventh (59). Geneva College and Saint Vincent College tied for eighth with 46 points. Bethany College was 10th (27) and Thiel College was 11th (23).  

This season’s players to watch list includes eight All-PAC First Team selections, eight All-PAC Second Team selections and eight All-PAC Honorable Mention selections from last fall. 

Chatham graduate midfielder Morgan Anderson (Pittsburgh, Pa. | North Allegheny) and Westminster rising sophomore forward Brooke Horvath (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Franklin Regional) headline this year’s players to watch list. Last year marked the second-straight PAC Player of the Year award for Anderson. She is the league's first back-to-back player of the year award winner since Westminster's Mallory Bugel in 2005-06. Horvath was honored last fall with the league's Newcomer of the Year award.

A three-time All-PAC selection (1st team in 2020-21, 2021; 2nd team in 2019), Anderson made starts in each of Chatham's 18 matches last season. Her 22 points tied for the fifth most in the league while her nine goals tied for sixth most. She also had four game-winning goals to her credit last fall. Morgan's 14 points and six goals tied for the second-most scored during the PAC's regular season. She had a goal and an assist in last year's title match. In 65 career appearances (56 starts), Anderson has totaled 73 points on 28 goals and 17 assists. 

Horvath appeared in 17 matches while making 13 starts last season for Westminster. Her 33 points ranked second in the PAC. Horvath's 11 assists were the most in the PAC last fall, while her 11 goals were tied for the third most in the league. She totaled 14 points on five goals and four assists in nine PAC regular season matches. Horvath had three goals and an assist in Westminster's two matches during the championship tournament, including a pair of goals in the title match. 

Anderson, Horvath and Westminster rising senior midfielder Julia Redilla (Cranberry Township, Pa. | Seneca Valley) were recognized as members of the 2021 United Soccer Coaches Division III All-Region VII Team last November. Redilla was a First Team All-Region pick while Anderson and Horvath were named to the Third Team.

The players to watch list also includes 23 members of the Fall 2021 PAC Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes on varsity sports teams who have earned a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.6 or higher on a 4.0 scale during their semester of competition. Redilla was one of five PAC players that went on to earn College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Division III First Team Academic All-District^® honors.

In July Bethany, Chatham, Grove City, Thiel, W&J, Waynesburg and Westminster were recognized for their exemplary performance in the classroom during the 2021-22 academic year by the United Soccer Coaches as College Team Academic Award winners, with each of the programs posting team GPAs of 3.0 or higher. Bethany, Chatham, Grove City, Thiel, W&J, Waynesburg and Westminster were seven of the 157 schools that had both their men's and women's programs honored with the College Team Academic Award.  

The league’s regular season concludes Wednesday, October 26 with the six-team PAC Championship Tournament scheduled to get underway Saturday, Oct. 29. The title match is slated for Saturday, Nov. 5. 

This year’s tournament champion will secure the PAC’s automatic-qualifying bid to the Division III Championship. Team selections for the Division III Championship will be announced Sunday, Nov. 6, with the first and second rounds slated for Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 12-13.
 

2022 PAC Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish)
School (first-place votes)	Points	2021 record (conference)
1. Westminster College (5)	103	16-3-1 (9-0 PAC)
2. Grove City College (3)	101	10-8 (7-2 PAC)
3. Chatham University (3)	99	12-6-1 (7-2 PAC)
4. Washington & Jefferson College	76	10-8-2 (6-2-1 PAC)
5. Franciscan University	73	7-8 (4-5 PAC)
6. Waynesburg University	62	8-8-1 (4-4-1 PAC)
7. Allegheny College	59	5-11-1 (1-5-1 NCAC)
T-8. Geneva College	46	5-13 (4-5 PAC)
T-8. Saint Vincent College	46	5-11 (2-7 PAC)
10. Bethany College	27	4-12 (0-9 PAC)
11. Thiel College	23	4-11-1 (1-8 PAC)

2022 PAC Women's Soccer Players to Watch

Allegheny College
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown | High School
Taylor McKindley	So.	M	Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. | Santa Margarita Catholic
Sasha Rosa	Sr.	M	East Lansing, Mich. | East Lansing
Abby Waryanka	Sr.	D	Gibsonia, Pa. | Pine-Richland

 

Bethany College
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown | High School
Corinne Grabow	Sr.	GK	Morgantown, W.Va. | University
Mary Marshall	So.	F	Steubenville, Ohio | Steubenville

 

Chatham University
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown | High School
Morgan Anderson	Gr.	M	Pittsburgh, Pa. | North Allegheny
Emily Harvey	Sr.	M	Lilly, Pa. | Penn Cambria
Aliyah Hunter	Jr.	D	Stafford, Va. | North Stafford
Emily Martz	Gr.	D	Bedford, Pa. | Bedford

 

Franciscan University
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown | High School
Tania Davidson	So.	F	Mesa, Ariz. | Arete Preparatory Academy
Rebekka Dill	So.	GK	Setauket, N.Y. | Ward Melville
Angela Postage	Jr.	D	Canal Winchester, Ohio | Canal Winchester
Bella Rubino	Sr.	F	Ashburn, Va. | Stone Bridge
Juliana Rubino	Jr.	F	Ashburn, Va. | Stone Bridge

 

Geneva College
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown | High School
Katie Bodenmiller	Jr.	F	Westfield, N.Y. | Westfield Academy and Central
Sarah Christel	Fr.	F	Herndon, Va. | Trinity Christian School
Saige Musser	So.	F	Denver, Pa. | Cocalico

 

Grove City College
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown | High School
Gianna D'Amato	Jr.	F	Maywood, N.J. | Hawthorne Christian
Britta Lagerquist	So.	F	Pittsburgh, Pa. | Fox Chapel
Hailey Weinert	Sr.	F	Landenberg, Pa. | Kennett
Emily White	Jr.	M	Fairview, Pa. | Fairview

 

Saint Vincent College
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown | High School
Kylie Albertson	Sr.	F	Hagerstown, Md. | North Hagerstown
Sydney Campbell	Jr.	D	Moon Township, Pa. | Moon
Tanisha Grewal	Jr.	M	Grantville, Pa. | Eastern Lebanon
Brianna Mack	So.	D	Stewartstown, Pa. | Kennard-Dale
Kayla West	So.	D	Saint Leonard, Md. | Calvert

   

Thiel College
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown | High School
Arlene Barreto	Sr.	M	Covina, Calif. | Bishop Amat Memorial
Kelly Clark	Sr.	M	New Castle, Pa. | Mohawk
Sam Hoffman	Jr.	GK	Annapolis, Md. | Broadneck
Madison Walsh	Sr.	D	Monongahela, Pa. | Ringgold

   

Washington & Jefferson College
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown | High School
Peyton Behling	So.	M	Annapolis, Md. | Severn School
Katie Brown	Jr.	M	Mechanicsburg, Pa. | Cumberland Valley
Makenna Mann	Jr.	D	Herndon, Va. | South Lakes

 

Waynesburg University
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown | High School
Courtney Grove	Sr.	D	Frederick, Md. | Frederick
Kate James	Jr.	M	Silver Spring, Md. | St. John's College
Haley Johnson	So.	F	Somerset, Pa. | Rockwood
Sarah Rentler	Sr.	M	Mount Lebanon, Pa. | Mount Lebanon

 

Westminster College
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown | High School
Allie Augustine	So.	F	Cortland, Ohio | Lakeview
Sophia Galietta	Jr.	D	Bethel Park, Pa. | Bethel Park
Brooke Horvath	So.	F	Pittsburgh, Pa. | Franklin Regional
Julia Redilla	Sr.	M	Cranberry Township, Pa. | Seneca Valley
Natalie Vilchek	So.	M	West Newton, Pa. | Yough